“The trees parted to let them through and for one second assumed their human forms completely. Lucy had a glimpse of tall and lovely wood-gods and wood-goddesses all bowing to the Lion; next moment they were trees again, but still bowing, with such graceful sweeps of branch and trunk that their bowing was itself a kind of dance”
(Prince Caspian, 144).
C.S. Lewis explores the idea of creation praising God (Psalm 148) and creation groaning for God (Romans 8) with his dancing, animated trees in Prince Caspian. Lewis puts hands and feet (or trunks and branches) to a complex theological truth helping the reader engage in a down-to-earth, although imaginative, way.
Even if that imaginative skill seems far off, you exercise your imagination in other ways. If I describe a tree with a thick trunk, roots rippling the ground, and long branches with droopy leaves, you use your imagination to picture this tree in your mind. You also use your imagination to put yourself into a story or to “put yourself into someone else’s shoes.” We employ our imaginations in these two ways often to understand what we read or hear and to engage with people and ideas.
But Lewis’s, and other artists, use of imagination is valuable for us in a different way by helping us "see" the unseen. If we want to move our faith from word to flesh, from belief to action, we need to see the world as God sees it and then respond accordingly. Contrary to what you may believe, this takes a little imagination.
In a book review of Imagination Redeemed for the Gospel Coalition, Greg Forster writes, “Imagination was given to us so we could practice hope. We walk by faith, not by sight; we value what is unseen more than what is seen. How can we firmly and consistently look beyond the world we see, if not through active and well-trained imagination?”
Forster writes that an imagination that draws you closer to God is active and well-trained. I agree with him, but I recognize that my own imagination is neither active nor well-trained. I am either too distracted, too busy, or too sinful to use my imagination to see with Kingdom eyes or recognize God’s work in the world today. Thankfully, there are many writers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians, and the Bible itself, who have already started the work for me.
Over the next few weeks, I will explore the value in borrowing images, like Lewis’s animated trees, to develop a solid foundation for our own imagination to connect with God, ourselves, and others. I will thoughtfully and practically show you how to use the imagination of someone else to engage with, delight in, and deepen your understanding of the nature of things, people, and nature as they are made and purposed by God as revealed in the Bible.
Next week, we’ll start with a story about hiking and the dancing trees from Prince Caspian. If you haven’t read the Narnia series, I encourage you to start reading them now! You will find so many images and characters to broaden the scope of your imagination (thanks for that one, Anne of Green Gables) and help you better grasp God’s work in the world around you.
What is an image from a book or movie that has stuck with you and impacted the way you view the world?
Resources:
Greg Forster, Review of “Imagination Redeemed- Glorifying God with a neglected part of your mind,” by Gene Edward Veith Jr. and Matthew P. Ristuccia. The Gospel Coalition. 17 December 2014.
Lewis, C.S. Prince Caspian. HarperCollins. 1951.
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